RIVER bailiffs are to clamp down on illegal fishermen plundering lakes and rivers of their stock.

If caught in the act, they face fines of up to #5,000 for stealing fish from the waters’ owners – and up to #2,500 if caught angling without a licence.

The Environment Agency and bona fide anglers are worried the good work done to replenish stock in the Dee River area could be undone by poachers.

In 2000 an estimated 100,000 coarse fish and 200 salmon were killed in the Bangor-on-Dee area after a pollution leak. At the time, officials believed it would take years for the fish stocks to recover from the disaster.

National coarse fishing coach Eric Humphreys, from Wrexham said they had to “beg and borrow” supplies from all over the UK.

As the Daily Post reported last week, the Environment Agency put up notices in Polish in the Wrexham area after reports of problems with anglers fishing without a rod licence and eating their catch.

Mr Humphreys, from Wrexham, said: “At this point there are people coming into this country with different cultures. They think they can just go and take fish. They are not just Polish but there’s a lot of other people.

“These are breeding fish. Instead of returning the fish they are taking them home and eating them.

“Polish people like eating carp. It’s just not done in this country. We need byelaws to stop them from taking these fish.

“The Environment Agency is trying to tackle this problem but they can’t stop them taking the fish, only to check their rod licences.

“You can’t prosecute them unless you actually catch them at it. I’m very concerned about the situation with stocks.”

Environment Agency’s Alan Winstone said a small number of actual reports of people taking coarse fish for eating had been received.

“It’s more a case of concern from angling groups about people who don’t understand the rules and byelaws about coarse fishing,” he said.

“There is a genuine concern around the angling community that it is happening on a higher scale at the moment and more and more people from Europe are coming over for jobs.

“We want to raise awareness there are rules about fishing,.

“You are not allowed to take fish and knock them on the head but we can’t enforce that rule. We are working with local councils and North Wales Police to meet different community groups to get our message across to them.”